NBA · USA

NBA Schedule 2026–27 — Season Dates, Playoffs, Finals

NBA 2026–27 season key dates: opening night, All-Star Weekend, Play-In Tournament, Playoffs, and Finals.

Key dates

EventDate
NBA Cup group playEarly November 2026
NBA Cup knockout roundsDecember 9–16, 2026
All-Star WeekendFebruary 13–15, 2027 (Cleveland)
All-Star GameFebruary 15, 2027
Trade deadlineFebruary 5, 2027
Regular season endsApril 12, 2027
Play-In TournamentApril 14–17, 2027
Playoffs (1st round)April 18, 2027
NBA FinalsJune 3–20, 2027 (best-of-7)
NBA DraftLate June 2027

Season structure

The NBA regular season runs from late October to mid-April with each of the 30 teams playing 82 games. The schedule is heavy with back-to-backs and 5-games-in-7-days stretches, especially around holidays.

Sixteen teams reach the playoffs through a combination of automatic qualification (top six in each conference) and the Play-In Tournament (seeds 7–10). The full playoffs are best-of-seven across four rounds, ending in the NBA Finals in June.

The NBA Cup (formerly In-Season Tournament) is a midseason competition with group play in November and knockouts in December.

How to subscribe

The NBA publishes official team calendars on each team's page at nba.com — look for the calendar icon. ESPN team pages also export .ics files. Third-party services like Calsche maintain consolidated cross-team feeds.

Frequently asked questions

When does the 2026–27 NBA season start?
Opening Night is in late October 2026 (typically the third Tuesday). The full schedule drops in mid-August.
How many games are in the NBA season?
82 regular-season games per team. Plus up to 4 NBA Cup knockout games, 1–2 Play-In games, and up to 28 Playoff games for finalists.
Is Christmas Day a big NBA day?
Yes — Christmas Day features 5 marquee games and is one of the NBA's biggest TV days. December 25, 2026 is a Friday.